An East Ridge man’s two-year fight to be allowed to pay his sewer bill in cash without a fee has landed in Chancery Court.
The Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority filed a lawsuit March 21 against Rick Carpenter and his wife, saying the couple hasn’t paid their sewer bills since 2012.
WWTA is asking the court to force Carpenter to pay his outstanding $563.37 bill.
Carpenter says the bill debt has piled up for good reason — but not because he hasn’t tried to pay. He just doesn’t think it should cost him extra to pay cash.
It is impossible for a WWTA sewer customer to pay a bill in cash without being charged a $1 to $3 processing fee of some kind. WWTA doesn’t accept payments at its office but it contracts with 22 retail locations that do.